Health and Lifestyle

DOH to reduce malaria cases in Palawan to zero by 2026
February 10 2023, 6:12 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) is aiming to reduce malaria cases in Palawan to zero by 2026. “We want to focus our programs in Palawan, which is a province with remaining active cases, so in 2026, we would like Palawan to reduce its malaria cases to zero,” DOH Standards and Strategy… Read More

XBB.1.5 possible to become dominant variant in PH: expert
February 9 2023, 3:48 pm
MANILA – The XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, which is a mutation of the BA.2, could be a dominant variant in the country, a health official said Thursday. “I think it will be especially now that during the first month of January, the WHO [World Health Organization] reports that the top three… Read More

PH logs 924 new cases of Omicron subvariants
February 8 2023, 4:23 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) has detected 924 new cases of the highly-transmissible Omicron subvariants. In its latest Covid-19 biosurveillance report, the agency noted that there were 1,078 samples sequenced by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the University of the… Read More

PH to receive add'l 300K doses of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines
February 7 2023, 4:00 pm
MANILA – The country is expected to receive over 300,000 doses of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines apart from the COVAX Facility’s donation of one million doses. “Meron pang isang bansa (There is another country) which we could not name for now because the agreements are being finalized but they… Read More

DOH studies data collection, management of 'long Covid' cases
February 7 2023, 3:40 pm
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) is studying how it can manage cases and collect data about patients who experience "long Covid", a health official said Tuesday. In a media briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency recognizes the presence of long Covid --… Read More

All provinces except Palawan malaria-free: DOH
February 7 2023, 3:32 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday reported that all provinces in the country have achieved malaria-free status except for Palawan. The department aims to achieve the malaria-free status by 2030. “Just this 2022, meron tayong apat na bagong areas na dineclare na malaria-free… Read More

Daily average of new Covid-19 infections down by 16%
February 6 2023, 5:59 pm
MANILA – The country’s daily average of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases has decreased by 16 percent from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday. In its latest case bulletin, the DOH noted the daily infections decreased to 145 in the recent week from… Read More

NCR logs lowest Covid count since March 2020 with 17 new cases
February 6 2023, 2:18 pm
MANILA – The National Capital Region (NCR) logged 17 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of Feb. 5, the lowest since March 20, 2020. “This is the lowest in the NCR since March 20, 2020. The 7-day average dipped to 46 cases per day,” said OCTA Research Group fellow, Dr.… Read More

Leveled-up health center to offer more services in Davao Oro town
February 5 2023, 4:56 pm
COMPOSTELA, Davao de Oro – Residents in this town as well as in neighboring municipalities will soon enjoy free and better services as officials broke ground for Davao de Oro’s third "super health center" (SHC) in Barangay Maparat here on Saturday afternoon. Dr. Anabelle Yumang, Department of… Read More

Smoking hikes risk of coronary heart disease, sudden death
February 3 2023, 5:23 pm
MANILA – Smoking increases a person’s risk of having coronary heart disease and sudden death, health experts said Friday. “Smoking associated with two to four-fold increase in the risk of coronary heart disease, a greater than 70 percent excess rate of death from coronary heart disease and… Read More

DOH finalizing guidelines on use of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines
February 2 2023, 3:02 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) is finalizing the guidelines on the use of the bivalent vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In a Viber message to reporters on Thursday, the agency assured the public to issue the necessary guidelines in time for the implementation of the… Read More

No premium contribution increase in 2023: PhilHealth
February 2 2023, 2:26 pm
MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has proposed to implement steady incremental increases in its premium contribution schedule to give its members time to adjust. In a statement Thursday, PhilHealth acting president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said… Read More

Asian Social Institute celebrates 60th Jubilee
February 2 2023, 12:29 pm
MANILA – The Asian Social Institute (ASI) in Manila celebrates its 60th Rose Diamond Jubilee and its foundation until October 2023 with the theme “ASI @60, Celebrating Integrity of Creation.” ASI was founded by the late Rev. Fr. Dr. Francis Senden, CICM (1916-1973) with the blessings of the… Read More

Health office sounds alarm as dengue cases spiral in Iloilo City
February 1 2023, 8:36 pm
ILOILO CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) has called on the public to intensify the implementation of the "4S" strategy as a preventive measure amid the increasing number of dengue fever cases here. Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, in a press conference on Wednesday, said… Read More

Batangas town opens modernized city health office
January 31 2023, 8:25 pm
SANTO TOMAS CITY, Batangas – The city government here expects a more efficient delivery of healthcare services to residents as it opened a new modern building and facilities for the City Health Office (CHO), located at Sampalukan Road in Barangay San Miguel. City Mayor Arth Jhun Aguilar… Read More

Catanduanes hospital to open dialysis center
January 30 2023, 6:01 pm
LEGAZPI CITY – The provincial government of Catanduanes announced on Monday that the Eastern Bicol Medical Center (EBMC) in Virac town will open its own dialysis center next month to provide services for indigent patients. In a social media post, the local government unit (LGU) said EBMC chief,… Read More

Inflation, peso devaluation affect maintenance meds prices: DOH
January 25 2023, 5:01 pm
MANILA – The prices of maintenance medicines for non-communicable diseases are affected by inflation and peso devaluation as these are also commodities in the market, a health department official said Wednesday. “Base po sa monitoring namin last December 2022, isang gamot po ang nakita natin,… Read More

WHO warns vs. contaminated child cough syrups
January 25 2023, 3:40 pm
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday issued an urgent call for countries to crack down on substandard medical products after more than 300 children died in multiple countries due to contaminated cough syrups. Over the past four months, the WHO said, several incidents have been… Read More

5B people at risk from trans fats, leading to heart disease: WHO
January 24 2023, 5:00 pm
GENEVA – Five billion people globally remain unprotected from harmful trans fats, increasing their risk of heart disease and death, said a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) released on Monday. Since WHO first called for the global elimination of industrially produced trans fats… Read More

Masks still needed once public health emergency ends: expert
January 18 2023, 4:03 pm
MANILA – A health expert on Wednesday recommended the retention of the face mask mandate should the state of public health emergency due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) be lifted. “Kung anuman iyong magbabago dito sa public health emergency o iyong state of calamity, mananatili pa rin… Read More